


Hair Care In Space

by Eastofthemoon, isabeau25



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Comfort, Family Feels, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Friendship/Love, Gen, Humor, Sleepy Cuddles, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-26
Updated: 2017-03-02
Packaged: 2018-09-27 01:40:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9944732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eastofthemoon/pseuds/Eastofthemoon, https://archiveofourown.org/users/isabeau25/pseuds/isabeau25
Summary: Just because you’re travelling in outer space in a flying castle, doesn’t mean you can skip out taking care of your hair.





	1. Allura and Keith

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is something Isabeau25 and I came up together. A series of one shots that is just about the Voltron dealing with hair problems while in space, because we think it's amusing. The first three chapters will likely be written by me since I decided to use the platonicvldweek on tumblr to write some of them. With that said, Isabeau25 will be adding her additions later. So, enjoy!

His hair was getting too long, Keith couldn’t deny it any longer. He sighed as he ran his hand through his long hair. He had been in denial for the last month or so, but his hair had been getting his face more often and the constant tangles were getting annoying.

Logically, Keith knew he should just cut it off. It would be more practical and that would solve the constant tangles. However, he spent a long time getting his hair to the length he wanted it, and he wasn’t quite ready to resort to that yet.

Besides, Lance would tease him non-stop on Keith finally deciding to rid himself of his ‘prize mullet’ as he often put it.

That left Keith with only one option, he had to tie it back, but he had nothing to tie it with. With was why he found himself knocking on Allura’s door. She was the only other person with long hair, so Keith hoped she had something he could use. He just hoped it wasn’t some weird Altean gadget that turned his hair green or something.

Allura opened the door and blinked surprised at seeing Keith there. He notice the small pink mouse, Chuchule, was riding her shoulder and twitched her whiskers curiously.

“Keith?” she asked, “do you need something?”

Keith took a quick glance around before stuffing his hands into his pocket. He felt silly for asking this, but he didn’t have a choice. “Yeah..um, Allura, I was wondering if you could help me with something?”

Allura tilted her head curiously. “Is it something with your training?”

“No, no, nothing like that,” Keith said, “it’s just..my hair is getting too long and I was wondering…”

“If I had something you can use to tie it back?” Allura asked with an arched eyebrow.

“Yeah, basically,” Keith replied as he scratched his cheek. “If..you don’t have anything that’s fine.”

Allura clapped her hands, her eyes sparkling with delight. “No, I have the perfect thing for you! Just a moment!”

She dashed back into her room and seemed rather gleeful as she reached for something from her dresser and handed it to Chuchule to hold. When they returned, the mouse was happily holding a bright golden ribbon that sparkled brighter than some Christmas lights Keith had seen back on earth.

“Um…” was all Keith could say as he took the ribbon and rubbed the smooth material. “What is this?”

“It’s called a sunbeam slip,” Allura said with a smile as Chuchule. “Altean girls would use them all the time to tie back their hair.” She clapped her hand. “It would fit your dark hair perfectly.”

Keith gave it a skeptic look. “It’s really...glittery.”

“Very, but they are also durable, strong and able to resist slipping out of your hair,” Allura continued. “They were very fashionable in the day.”

“I can imagine,” Keith said with a sigh as he held it up. “It’s nice...but I need something less shiny.” 

_The guys would tease me all day if they saw me wear this thing._

Allura frowned and Keith feared that perhaps he had insulted her, but she held a nostalgic look in her eyes. “I..may have a something else.”

She ventured back to her desk and Keith stayed at the doorway. He heard the sound of drawer opening, but did his best to not peek over her shoulder as she shut it and turned back around.

She held what seemed to be a blue ribbon that was similar to the sunbeam slips, but it wasn’t as glittery, at least on a first glance. Allura held it up revealing it to be a pale blue and wisps of silver were threaded along the edge.

“These are moonbeam slips,” Allura explained. “They were considered more practical and were generally worn by Altean men.”

“Oh,” Keith said as he took it and looked it over. He ran his fingers over the blue surface. “Are they just as good as the sunbeam slips?”

“Yes,” Allura said with a nod and her eyes softened. “My father use to wear these often.”

Keith paused and stared at the moonbeam slip with a whole new meaning. “Did..this belonged to your father?”

“I had a habit of taking a few of his without asking when I was younger,” Allura said with a smile, “not that he ever minded.”

Chuchule patted her cheek as Keith fiddled with the blue ribbon. “Allura, thanks, but I can’t take this if it’s that important.”

“No, no, it’s fine,” Allura said as she closed Keith’s fingers around the moonbeam slip. “I don’t use them anymore, and my father was the kind of man who would insist they be passed on to someone who did need them.”

Keith frowned uncertain. “You’re certain?”

“Very,” Allura replied. “I have much more important mementos from my father. Please, use it.”

Keith glanced to the moonbeam slip and found himself nodding. “Alright, I will. Thank you.”

“Would you like some help tying your hair back?” Allura said. “There is a trick to them, but once you’ve master it, it should be easy to do yourself.”

“I don’t get how complicated this can be, but sure,” Keith said as Allura stepped aside to let him enter. “Also, thanks. I appreciate it.”

Allura beamed. “Let me see you try on the sunbeam slip on just for fun and we’ll call it even.”

Keith sighed. _I knew there was a catch,_ he thought. Yet, as he sat down and saw how happy it made Allura, he found himself not minding it.


	2. Pidge, Allura and Lance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allura deals with tangles while Pidge and Lance discuss hair styles.

“Ow! Alright, I need to be more gentle.”

Pidge paused mid-step as she paused by Allura’s door. She tucked away her notebook into her pocket before poking her head inside.

Allura sat at her mirror and winced every time she ran her brush through her hair. “Ow!” Allura exclaimed again as she lowered her hands from the back of her hair. “That’s a nice big one to deal with.” 

The mice gave her comforting pats as they each shared a guilty look on their faces.

Allura smiled as she set her hair brush down to pat them on their heads. “Don’t worry, it’s fine, I just need to go more slowly.”

“Allura, what are you doing?” Pidge asked as she stepped inside.

The princess jumped, but relaxed as soon as she saw Pidge. “Oh, you startled me.”

“Sorry, but I was passing by and heard your cries of pain,” Pidge said as she got closer. “Are you hurt?”

Allura shook her head. “No, no, it’s nothing dire,” she explained as she held up her hairbrush. “I’m merely trying to get a large amount of tangles out of my hair.”

Pidge wrinkled her nose as she scooted over and saw what Allura meant. Her hair were full of large clump of tangles, especially in the back.

“How did you get this many tangles?” Pidge asked as she adjusted her glasses. From what she saw, Allura had always pinned her hair back when they went into battle and took great care to avoid this kind of mess.

Allura sighed and gave a half smile. “The mice decided to sleep in my hair while I slept last night,” she explained. “They meant no harm, but they seemed to have made a bit of a mess.”

The mice squeaked as they all stared at the floor in shame.

Pidge frowned as she looked back to Allura’s hair and shrugged. “Want me to help? Be easier for me to brush the back for you.”

Allura blinked, surprised by the offer. “You don’t mind.”

“Naw,” Pidge said as she took the brush and tackled the first tangle she found. “Besides, I remember what a pain when I got tangles in my hair.” She gave a laugh as she tried gently to tug at the tangle. “When I was a kid, my mom use to almost have to tie me down to get me to sit still long enough for her to brush them out.”

“I see,” Allura said and frowned. “Although, do you get that many tangles? Your hair is so short.”

“Oh, yeah, now it’s not a problem,” Pidge explained as she tugged and got out the tangle. “But I’m talking about back when my hair was super long.”

Allura blinked and glanced back to her. “You had long hair, Pidge?”

Pidge gave a shrug as she poked Allura to look back ahead. “It was before I went in disguise as a boy to find out what happened to my dad and brother.” 

That had been the hardest part of her disguise. She had spent years going out that hair. Pidge was never that fussy with her hair, but there were times she did miss it.

“Oh, I wish I could have seen that,” Allura said as she turned her face back to the mirror. “You must have been darling with long hair.”

Pidge paused in her brushing and reached into her pocket for the photograph of her and Matt. She fingered it for a moment before passing it to the mice. “Here, it’s not a great picture but this is what I looked like.”

The mice scurried and handed the photo to Allura. The princess took it and her face was filled with awe. “Oh, Pidge! You were adorable!”

Pidge gave a snort. “Oh, and I’m not adorable now?”

Allura faltered and winced. “What? No! I merely meant-”

“I’m teasing,” Pidge said as she returned to the brushing and smiled as she got out another tangle. “Alright, two down, let’s see if I can get the rest.”

Allura didn’t hear Pidge as she continued to stare at the picture. “You and your brother seem very close.”

Pidge paused at the statement and gave a soft smile. “Yeah, we are,” she said softly. “He can be a total dork sometimes, but he was always there when I needed him.”

Allura gave a nod as she set the photo back on the table. “You’re lucky, I’ve always wondered what it would be like to have siblings to play with.”

Pidge tugged slightly at a knot. “Sorry, going to have to get my fingers into this one,” she said as she dug her fingers into it as carefully as she could. “I will say though, it’s not always sunshine and roses. We can drive each other crazy too.”

“If you don’t drive each other crazy sometimes then you’re not siblings.” The girls turned to see Lance leaning against the doorway, arms crossed and a pout on his face. “And how come I wasn’t invited to his spa party?”

Pidge sighed as she rolled her eyes. _Speaking of driving people crazy…_

“It’s not a spa party, I’m trying to straighten out Allura’s hair,” Pidge explained as she picked up the brush.

Lance frowned, stepped in for an inspection and tilted his head. “That’s a big job, mind if I help too?”

Pidge and Allura exchanged a surprised look and stared back. “Uh..alright,” Allura said as she reached into her drawer and passed another brush. “But I can’t see how this would be enjoyment for you.”

Lance scoffed. “It’s not about enjoyment, it’s about fixing up beautiful hair,” he said as he took up a section and began to brush. “With that said, Princess, I love to do a French braid on you sometime. I think you would look good with one.”

Pidge opened and shut her mouth slightly. “And how do you know how to French braid hair?” Pidge asked.

Lance scoffed. “Do you know how many sisters and little cousins I have?” he said as he pointed to himself with the brush. “I am a master braider.”

“I’m confused,” Allura said as the mice scratched their heads. “What is a ‘French braid?”

“It’s just like a regular braid, but a bit fancier,” Pidge replied as she got a knot out. “There, one more done. With that said, once we get your hair straightened up, maybe you should tie it up for awhile.”

Allura pressed her lips together thoughtfully and then reached into her drawer. “Would this help making a ‘French braid’?” she asked as she held out a glittery gold ribbon.

Lance gave a low whistle as he took it and looked it over. “It’s not needed, but it would look good for it,” he stated. “Is this some kind of fancy hair ribbon?”

“It’s call a sunbeam slip,” Allura said with a grin as the mice climbed up her shoulders to try assist Pidge. “Many Alteans use to wear them back in the day.”

Pidge tilted her head. “Wait, aren’t these like those moonbeam things that Keith’s been wearing in his hair?”

The whole group had noticed Keith had began to tie his hair back with a silvery looking ribbon. It didn’t look stable, but by some miracle a hair never fell out of place no matter how long or what kind of adrenaline dousing situation they found themselves in.

“Exactly,” Allura said with a nod. “I had offered him a sunbeam slip, but he declined.”

“Aw, too bad,” Lance said as he got a tangle out and switched to another one. “I’d kill to see Keith wearing one of those things.”

Allura chuckled. “Yes, he did look quite good when I had him try it on.”

Pidge and Lance stopped brushing and looked to Allura in shock.

“Wait,” Lance said slowly in utter delight as he pointed to the sunbeam slip. “Keith actually wore one of these?!”

Allura nodded. “It was part of the agreement into lending him the moonbeam slip,” she said. “I couldn’t resist.”

“And you didn’t take a photo?” Pidge gasped.

“I did not think of it at the time,” Allura said looking a bit regretful, “and I doubt he would have let me.”

Pidge smirked and looked Lance, and could tell he had the same idea. “New goal, find a way to get Keith to put these in his hair again?”

“Definitely!” Lance cheered as he spun the brush in his hands, “but first let’s finish Allura’s hair here. I think we’re almost clear of the tangles.”

“I can feel it,” Allura said with a sigh of relief. “Thank you, I appreciate the help.”

“No problem,” Lance said with a shrug. “I always found brushing hair to be relaxing.” He snapped his fingers. “Hey, do you have any hair clips? We should put some in Pidge’s hair once we braid yours.”

“Oh,” Allura said with a delighted clap. “I do have some flower petal hair clips.”

Pidge gave a dark look to both of them. “You’re NOT putting hair clips on me.”

Lance huffed. “Fine, then I’ll wear them. I don’t mind looking pretty.”

Pidge and Allura giggled as the mice squeaked happily. Maybe it was turning into a spa party.


	3. Space Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “We have space lice,” Hunk said in disbelief. “I’ve never caught lice in my whole life and I end up with space lice!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter, and the theme for today's fic is Enemies/Family

Lance growled as he walked down the corridor. He dug his fingers into his scalp as deep as they would go, but still the constant itching would continue. It refused to stop! No matter how much he scratched, the prickling sensation just continued and it was driving me crazy. Lance was starting to wondering if just rubbing his head against the wall would make it go away.

“First that stupid swamp planet and now this,” he muttered darkly. “Can’t get a break, can I?”

He hadn’t regretted the mission to that little swamp planet. The locals had been nice and were in desperate need of rescue of getting out of under the empire’s thumb. With that said, the long trek though that stinky, murky, bug infested swamp was an experience he gladly not repeat, especially when they had all stumbled into water.

Lance cringed. He could still taste that skunk water on his tongue.

When the mission was completed, all the paladins were more than happy to return to the castle and take much needed showers. Afterwards, Lance had happily crashed into his bed and planned to take a well deserved nap, except his couldn’t. His head started to be immensely itchy. 

Lance had tried to ignore it, but it just made the tingling sensation worse. Thus, in the end, Lance reluctantly dragged himself out of bed, got dressed and decided he needed to see Coran. Maybe he had like a lotion or something for it.

 _It can’t be that space shampoo Allura gave me,_ Lance thought. _I’ve used it over a dozen times now and this has never happened before._

Lance tossed his musing asides as the door to the medical examination room came in sight. Yet, to his surprise, Hunk was also approaching from the other end of the corridor and he too look grumpy as he dug his fingers into his hair.

Both of them paused as their eyes met, then in perfect unison they pointed at each other and exclaimed “You too?!”

Hunk moaned as he buried his face into his hands. “Oh, man, if you have it too, it’s got to be a disease or something.”

Lance rolled his eyes. “Why do you always have to assume the worse?” he said as he went for the door. “It’s probably just a rash we picked up.”

“We’re in constant battle with an evil alien empire,” Hunk muttered. “How can I NOT assume the worst?”

Lance shook his head, but froze mid-step. Coran was already there, that didn’t surprise him. Seeing Allura, Keith, Shiro and Pidge already in the room did throw him for a loop. His concern also rose a bit as he quickly tuned in that Shiro, Keith and Pidge were also scratching their heads like there was no tomorrow.

Allura was patting Pidge’s shoulder as she turned to Lance and Hunk. Her eyes widened and then she gave a deep sigh. “Oh no, not you two as well?”

“Uh, yeah,” Hunk said hesitantly as he took a seat next to Keith. “Guessing your guys scalps are itchy too/”

“It’s driving me nuts,” Keith growled as he was using both hands.

Shiro frowned as he took hold of Keith’s hands. “Easy, Buddy, you’re going to hurt yourself at this rate.”

“What else can we do?” Pidge snarled as she tossed her hands up in the air. “I can’t get anything else done with this constant itching!”

Allura patted Pidge’s head and then fixed her own her own hair as she looked to Coran. “Do you have any ideas, Coran?”

Coran twirled his mustache thoughtfully as he went through the tablet. “Finishing the analysis now, Princess...and..Ha! Got it!” He grinned, but then it instantly dropped as he read it over. “Oh, dear.”

“It’s a plague, isn’t it?” Hunk said fearfully. “It’s the first symptom of some horrible disease!”

Coran lifted his head up confused and then seem to register what Hunk meant. “What? Oh, no, no, nothing of the sort.”

Lance puffed his chest out and slapped Hunk’s back. “See! Didn’t I tell ya? Nothing to worry about?”

“You all just have blood sucking bugs in your hair,” Coran stated cheerfully.

All the paladins went still and in perfect unison cried “What?!”

“Imparlis kissers to be precise,” Coran said as he brought up a holographic image of a tiny green bug with several legs.

Lance paled and shivered as he hugged himself. “That thing is on me!” He sprung to his feet and rapidly shook his head. “Get them off!”

“I’m afraid shaking won’t be enough,” Coran said, “they’re far more stubborn than that.”

“Are they dangerous?” Shiro asked concerned.

“No, not at all,” Allura said as she stood next to Coran. “We had a similar breed of bug on Altea.”

Coran gave a shrug. “They live on any creature they can find to suck their blood and often lay eggs in the creature’s fur..or in your lot’s case, your hair.” He shaped his fingers like they were little claws. “The itching comes from the little critters hatching and trying to find spots to feed.”

Keith tilted his head. “Um..that sounds exactly like lice.”

“It is lice,” Pidge said sourly.

“We have space lice,” Hunk said in disbelief. “I’ve never caught lice in my whole life and I end up with space lice!”

Lance sighed as he rubbed his eyes. “How did we catch them in the first place?”

“Must have been from the swamp,” Shiro said as he scratched the back of his neck. “There were a lot of bugs wanting to crawl on us.”

Keith grimaced as he wrapped his arms around himself. “Don’t remind me.”

“They don’t live own their own if they have no creature to live on,” Allura said as she began to scratch her own head. “With that said, we must deal with this fast before it spreads...What?”

All the paladins and Coran exchanged uneasy frowns. Lance coughed, taking it upon himself to point out the bad news. 

“Uh...hate to point this out, Allura,” he said as he pointed. “But you’re scratching your head a lot there.”

Allura paused and lowered her hand to stare at it. Her face turned pale as she realized what she had been doing. “Oh, no.”

“Never fear, Princess,” Coran said as he too began to scratch his head. “We just need to nip this literal blood sucker in the-”

“Coran,” Pidge said dryly. “You’re scratching too.”

Coran went still like a statue and then groaned deeply. “Oh, quiznack!”

0808080808080808080808080808080808080808080

“Hold still, Pidge,” Shiro said as he finished rubbing the oily cream into Pidge’s hair. “Almost got you covered.” 

Pidge stuck her tongue out in disgust as Shiro continued to massage her scalp. “This gunk is horrible! It’s so cold, slimy and it stinks!”

“That’s how you know it’s working!” Coran said as he finished placing a white cap on Keith. “There, you’re done number 4!”

Keith sighed as he poked at the cap only for Coran to swat his hand away. “No poking,” Coran ordered. “You got to leave the gel alone or it won’t kill the imparlis kissers.”

“Just call it space lice, it’s easier,” Lance grumbled from his seat on the couch as Hunk finished his head. “This is so undignified.” 

“It’s not like we have a choice,” Shiro said as he placed the white cap on Pidge’s head and looked around the group. “Does everyone have their heads soaking in the gel?”

“Yes,” everyone chimed in a very miserable tone.

Allura sighed as she adjusted her cap. “I finished the space mice, poor little things got infested with them too.”

Ketih looked around. “Where are they?”

“Right here,” Hunk said as he scooped the mice off the floor to show off. Four little bundles of bandages stared back at the group. The little mice seemed barely able to move with only their eyes, ears and tails peeking out of the bandages.

“They look like they’re mummified,” Pidge commented. “Guess it could be worse.”

Shiro sadly shook his head as he looked to Coran. “Do we have to clean the castle? On Earth, when there’s a lice infestation, we often have to treat the furniture and anything else made of cloth the lice could live on.”

Coran shook his head. “Thankfully, the castle has an infestation treatment setting, which I’ve already activated.”

“So, if there are any stragglers sneaking around the castle should take care of it,” Allura said. “Unfortunately, treating ourselves has to be done manually.”

Keith sighed as he rubbed his eyes and stood up. “This whole thing is ridiculous, I’m going to the training room.”

Coran grabbed his shoulder to stop him. “Can’t do that, I’m afraid,” he said as he shook a finger. “The gel needs time to set in, and if you’re moving around a lot, you could rest shaking it off.”

“And we would be back to square one,” Keith concluded with a pout. “Fantastic.”

Hunk sighed as he slumped on the couch. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m seriously considering going bald after this.”

Shiro chuckled as he patted his shoulder in sympathy. “I doubt you have to be that extreme, although,” he cast a glance to Allura and Keith. “You two may have an easier time with short hair.”

Allura offered a small smile. “Perhaps, but I will stick with my long hair.”

“Yeah, and same with me,” Keith said with a determine growl. “No way, I’m letting my hair get cut again.”

Shiro laughed. “You’re still not over that?”

Keith said nothing as he turned away with a pout. Pidge arched an eyebrow as she looked to Shiro. “What are you two referring to?”

“Keith accidentally got gum in his hair when he was 13,” Shiro explained. “Only way to get it out was to cut it and, to make it look even, the hairdresser had to cut a fair bit off.”

Lance gave a mocking gasp. “You mean to tell me there was a time Keith didn’t have the mullet?”

“Yes,” Shiro said and seemed to grin at Keith’s pout. “Keith hated the haircut so much, he vowed to let it grow and never cut it.”

“It was not just ‘short hair’ it was the ‘haircut from hell’. Worst haircut ever!” Keith stated as he crossed his arms. “You would feel the same time if you had to endure with it for a year.”

Pidge snickered. “If you’re not willing to get it cut, maybe we can convince you to wear one of those sunbeam slips.”

Keith buried his face in his hands. “You guys are never going to let that go, are you?”

Lance moved forward to tease, but the white cap fell over his eyes slightly. He gave a growl as he put it back in place and looked to Coran. “How long, exactly, do we have to keep this gunk on for?”

Coran counted on his fingers. “If I’m doing the math right...mostly likely about 12 vargas.”

“Great,” Lance replied as he slouched. “So, we’re suppose to sit and do nothing for 12 hours?”

“12 vargas, but yes,” Coran said as he took a seat next to him. “But I’m certain we could find some quiet activity to pass the time.”

“Oh, yeah?” Keith said with a doubtful frown. “Like what?”

Pidge grasped her chin before she reached into her bag and brought out a deck of cards. “Anyone up for a card game?”

The group looked, stared at one another and then all gave a shrug. It’s not like they had anything else to do.

080808080808080808080808080808080808080

“GO FETCH!” Coran cried as he slammed the cards from his hands down.

Pidge shook her head as she patted the Altean’s shoulder. “For the last time, Coran, it’s GO FISH!” She pointed to his deck. “And you say that when someone else is suppose to draw a card from a deck.”

Coran gave a huff. “Well, the name of this game doesn’t make any sense!” He looked over the cards. “Why would you say ‘Go fish’ when there is no fish involved whatsoever?”

Shiro gave a gentle smile as he collected the deck and the cards. “Maybe it’s time we move onto a different game.”

“Yeah, especially after seeing Lance win this game three times in a row,” Keith grumbled.

Lance gave a smug grin as he poked his shoulder. “What? Can’t handle not being good as me?”

Keith rolled his eyes. “No, I’m just tired of seeing your victory dances.”

Lance grinned. “I can’t help it that I’m a good dancer.”

“That’s not the problem!” Keith growled, but it was cut short as Hunk reappeared with a tray of drinks and a plates of some kind of purple squares.

“Alright, I got fresh brownies and tea,” Hunk declared as he took a seat and held it out. “Dig in, everyone!”

Pidge stared at it skeptically as she took one of the squares. “Last I checked, brownies weren’t purple.”

“No, but the taste is similar,” Hunk said as he took a square. “I taste tested it myself. Trust me on this.”

Shiro frowned as he sniffed, took a bite and gave an approving nod. “Huh, they do taste like brownies. Good job, Hunk.”

Allura took a bite and blinked surprised. “It’s an odd taste...but it’s rather…”

“Sweet?” Keith offered as he nibbled on his brownie.

“Yes,” Allura said with a nod, “but in a good way.” She smiled at the yellow paladin. “Very clever, Hunk.”

Hunk beamed at the praise and smiled even more as he passed out the drinks. “Glad to hear that, figured we could all use a treat.”

Pidge tore off a piece of her brownie and offered it to the mice who were sitting on her shoulders. “Getting back to what we were discussing,” she said as she looked to the group. “If we don’t want to play go fish anymore, what should we play?”

Lance gave a sly grin. “We could play strip poker.”

The other paladins shot him a dark look as Allura and Coran exchanged baffled frowns. 

“What is strip poker?” Allura asked.

Lance opened his mouth to speak, but Shiro swiftly intercepted and covered his mouth with his hand. “We’re not playing strip poker,” he said in his no nonsense tone.

Allura raised an eyebrow as Coran crossed his arms. “Well then, how about an old fashioned game of hilbahub,” he suggested.

The princess widened her eyes in alarm. “Coran, no! Not after what happened last time!”

“Oh, Princess that was a fluke accident.”

“Do you not remember how long it took to repair the damages from that?” she argued. “Father banned you from that game for a reason!”

Coran gave a huff. “Oh, it wasn’t that bad! The castle just needed a new coat of paint afterward.”

Lance blinked curiously. “Dare I ask what hilbahub is?”

“It’s an old Altean game,” Coran said with nostalgic grin. “Use to play it quite a bit in my youth. Very entertaining and good way to give your brain a work out.”

“And how exactly do you play?” Hunk asked as he nibbled more on his brownie.

Coran shook a finger. “Well, the first thing you need is a huge fire-”

“And I’m stopping you right there,” Shiro said and sighed. “Honestly, you’re as bad as Lance at times.”

Coran shrugged, not looking the least big offended. “Doesn’t surprise me. Truth be told, I was a lot like Lance in my youth.”

The paladins, and even Allura paused as they stared at him. Lance gave a slight blush as he scratched his cheek. “Uh, really?”

“Oh, indeed,” Coran said proudly. “Course I am not energetic as you are anymore, but that is the price of age and wisdom.”

Keith raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Are you saying you were more energetic when you were younger?”

“Yeah, because that’s rather scary to picture considering how much energy you have now,” Hunk commented.

“Oh, my yes,” Coran said with a firm nod and gave a laugh. “King Alfor often joked I could power the whole castle if they found a way to hook me up.” He paused and grasped his chin. “Although, now that I think of it, he might have been half serious.”

Lance frowned and then grinned as he snapped his fingers. “Hey, that gives me an idea.”

Hunk titled his head. “What? That we should use Coran as a power source?”

“No, no,” Lance said as he shook his head and turned to Pidge. “Why don’t we bring down the video game system and play some video games?”

“Oooh, great idea,” Pidge said as she clapped her hands. “We can have a mini tournament.”

Shiro crossed his arms. “I thought you two couldn’t find anything to hook the game system up to.”

“They couldn’t, so Pidge and I built it a power source,” Hunk replied with a shrug. “It took a bit of creativity, and dismantling of one hair dryer, but we got it running.”

Coran’s eye twitched. “So that’s where it went. Huh, feel rather bad for interrogating the mice then.”

Allura gave a frown of uncertainty. “I’m not sure how well I would do at your ‘video game’,” she commented. “They always seem so..rapid and flashy.”

Lance gave a grin as he inched closer. “Never fear, Princess,” he said. “Pidge and I are masters. We’ll teach you everything you know.”

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A couple of hours later, Pidge and Lance stared in shock as Allura’s high score moved to the top of the screen. 

“I don’t believe it,” Pidge grumbled as she watched Allura rapidly hit the buttons and take down the boss. “I thought you said you never played video games.”

“I haven’t,” Allura said without taking her eyes off the screen, “but I must say, this is quite entertaining.”

Keith suppressed a grin as he watched in amusement. “Think it’s safe to assume who’s the winner of this tournament is.”

“No, kidding,” Hunk replied with a grin and he looked around. “Too bad we don’t have a trophy for her.” 

He then felt a tug on his leg and glanced down. The mice waved and then jumped on top of each other. They then spread out their arms with huge grins on their faces.

Shiro chuckled as he carefully picked up the mice and handed them over to Allura. “Looks like the mice are pretending to be a trophy for you.”

Allura finished winning the level and giggled as gently held the mice in her hands. “Thank you,” she told the mice. “You four are the best prizes I could get.”

The mice squeaked and despite being wrapped in bandages seemed quite pleased.

“Yeah, that’s great,” Lance said as he leaned back on the couch. “But I think I’m ready for something else not game related.”

Coran grasped his chin in thought. “Well, I could tell you all about my hair raising adventure on the ice planet Malka. It all started when I had to tear my clothes off-”

“How about we watch a movie off my computer,” Pidge said as she held it up.

“Isn’t that a small screen to have it on?” Keith asked as he pointed.

“It would,” Hunk said thoughtfully, “except we do have other monitors in the castle we can hook it up to, if Allura is alright with it.”

“I am,” Allura said and tilted her head along with the mice, “but what exactly are we watching?”

Pidge grinned as she held up her laptop. “I have a few, but the one I’m thinking of is a classic.”

Allura and Coran exchanged curious frowns as Hunk and Pidge went to set up the laptop.

It didn’t take the group long to settle on the couch, with everyone curled under a blanket and Hunk bringing in more brownies and ‘space popcorn’ as he called it for sacks. Allura had to admit the story the movie was telling was intriguing, but when they were an hour into the movie she blinked in confusion.

“I thought you said Earth had never contacted other species outside Earth?” she asked.

“They haven’t,” Shiro stated with his arms wrapped around Keith and Pidge.

“Then why pray tell are there Alteans in your movie?” she asked as she pointed to the screen.

“Very oddly dressed ones at that!” Coran said in a huff. “And why are they living in the forest! We never lived in the forest!”

“They’re not Alteans, they’re elves,” Lance explained as he leaned against Hunk and yawned. 

“Elves?” Allura said.

“Old Earth folklore,” Keith explained. “Basically they’re magical beings, and in Lord of the Rings they live in forests.” He then gave a pout. “Granted, I have a hard time liking this movie.”

Lance rolled his eyes. “Seriously? You don’t like Lord of the Rings?”

“No, I love Lord of the Rings as in the original book,” Keith said with a grunt as he crossed his arms. “But the movies always remind me how much better the book was.”

Hunk, Lance and Pidge silently stared at him with blank looks.

“You’ve read Lord of the Rings?” Pidge asked as she adjusted her glasses.

“Is there a reason I shouldn’t have?” Keith argued with a raised eyebrow.

“No, I guess not,” Hunk muttered as he scratched his cap. “Just never figured you were a book person.”

“Keith is a major book worm,” Shiro said with a half smile. “Makes it easy to shop for him since all you have to do to make him happy is get him a book.”

“Huh?” Lance muttered as he mulled over this information. “So, mullet head is also a book head, good to know.”

Keith rolled his eyes as he poked Lance’s rib with his fingers.

“With that said,” Shiro continued as he reached over to get another brownie and broke off a piece to hand to the mice. “It’s extremely hard to please him when it comes to movie adaptations of them.”

“It’s not hard,” Keith said with a pout. “I mean, it should be easy to just follow the plot of the book or at least capture the spirit of the book. Yet, I’ve lost count on how many times a movie director or producer decides to screw it over!”

Lance grasped his chin. “Dare I ask what your opinion on The Hobbit is?”

“There isn’t enough time in the day to explain everything wrong with that mess,” Keith muttered.

Coran shushed them with a huff. “Would you all pipe down? I’m trying to hear the Altean King speak.”

Hunk sighed as he rubbed his face in his hands. “They’re not Altean- Oh, never mind.” Hunk dropped his arms to the side in defeat. “Next time, I vote we watch Lilo and Stitch. I KNOW I saw that on Pidge’s laptop.”

Allura and Coran both hushed him as they got engrossed by the movie. Eventually, as the movie came to the end, Coran found himself the only person awake. Pidge and Keith had snuggled up next to Shiro, who seemed happy to hug the two of them like a pillow. Lance and Hunk had fallen asleep from their spot on the floor, while Allura had curled up on the end of the couch with the mice napping next to her.

As gingerly as he could, Coran got off the couch without waking any of them. He then collected all the spare blankets he could find and made certain each of the paladins and the princess were tucked in.

He gave them a warm smile as he poked the cap on his head and went to sleep in his own room. He couldn’t wait to get these things off when they all awoke. 

08080808080808080808080808080808080808080

“Well, Coran?” Allura asked as she tried to keep still as he checked her head. “Are we in the clear?”

Coran hummed and then snapped his fingers. “Yes! I am ecstatic to say we are in the clear!”

Pidge sighed in relief as she continued to brush her hair. “That’s a relief.”

“No kidding,” Lance chimed in. “I so DO NOT wish to go through that again.”

Shiro ran his fingers through his hair as he gave a thoughtful smile. “Still, it wasn’t all that bad. I did rather enjoy playing those games with you guys.”

“That’s true,” Hunk said with a nod as he helped the mice get their bandages off. “And watching the movie was fun too. We should do it more often.”

“I agree,” Allura said as she clapped her hands. “I’m rather curious on how that Lord of the Wings story ends.”

“It’s ‘Lord of the Rings’,” Keith corrected and gave a shrug, “and sure. There are worst ways to spend an evening.”

“I’m all for that,” Lance said as he leaned back. “Although, can we just all agree to have bug spray with us next time we end up on a swamp planet?”

“Oh, certainly,” Coran stated as he tucked his arms behind his back. “There’s my grandfather’s old recipe for it. First you have to get talka slime and spread it all over-”

“And that’s all I needed to know about that,” Hunk cut in as he stood. “I’m going to attempt to make cupcakes for tonight’s movie night.”

“Okay,” said Pidge as she brought up her laptop. “Meanwhile, I’m going to make a list of games we can play.”

“I still say we should try a good old round of hilbahub,” Coran stated.

“How about we play it, if you all agree to play strip poker,” Lance said with a teasing grin.

“No, and double no,” Shiro stated. 

The group continued to discuss what to do that night with each person wearing a huge grin on their faces. Everyone felt it was the beginning of something good.


	4. Pidge and Shiro

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge has a problem, and only Shiro can help her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another fic for today's Platonic Voltron week them "I got your back". This is the last chapter I will be adding to this and the next four chapters will be work by Isabeau25 when she has the time to write them. So, look forward to seeing those!

“Shiro, I need your help.”

Shiro glanced up from the report he had been reading on his bed and turned his head. 

“Sure, Pidge,” he started but then lost his train of thought. 

Pidge was scowling, which already was not a good sign, and she had a large fluffy towel wrapped around her head. Add to that she didn’t hesitate nor wait for Shiro’s permission before shutting his bedroom door, and Shiro sensed something was a foot.

“Okay,” Shiro said as he set the report aside and stood. “What happened and who did it?”

He was half betting it was another one of Lance’s pranks, although that didn’t exactly roll out Keith. Even Coran could be rather mischievous at times.

Pidge pouted as she slumped. “Me, I did it to myself.”

Shiro raised in confusion. “You?”

Pidge rubbed her eyes. “I should have doubled check, but did I? NO! Smart me had to just go ahead and not bother to check-”

“Okay, Pidge, slow down,” Shiro said gently as he touched her shoulder. “What exactly did you do?” 

Although, Shiro was betting it was connected to the towel wrapped around her head.

Pidge then went quiet and her eyes narrowed. “Promise, not to laugh?”

Shiro blinked. “Laugh?”

“At what I’m about to show you,” Pidge said as she grasped the end of the towel. “Promise not to laugh.”

Shiro raised and eyebrow as he folded his arms. “I promise to at least try, but I can’t guarantee.”

He had no idea what was underneath that towel. He might as well be honest with her.

Pidge pouted. “Shiro,” she whined.

“It’s the best I can do, Pidge,” Shiro said gently, “but come on. Whatever you did, I’m sure it’s not that bad.”

Pidge clearly thought differently, but she sighed in defeat as she began to unwrap the towel. “Brace yourself then.”

Pidge arms fell to ther side as the towel was unwrapped and reveal the bright green hair it had been containing underneath it.

Shiro stared wide eyed and dang it, he tried. He covered his mouth and even tried to bite his tongue, but a snicker came and then a snort. Before he could help it, he broke into a small laugh.

“Well,” he said with a chuckle. “At least you and Green Lion match now.”

“Shiro!” Pidge growled as she stomped her foot. “You promised you wouldn’t laugh!”

“I..ha ha, said I try,” Shiro chuckled, “but you got to admit this is funny.”

“Shiro,” Pidge whined.

Shiro wiped a tear from his eyes and took a deep breath. “Okay, okay, I’m good now,” he said as he glanced back and reached out to fingered her hair. “Sssooo, how exactly did you turn your hair green?”

Pidge gave a deep sigh as she went to sit on Shiro’s bed. “I ran out of shampoo, so I went to the supply closet and took out what I thought was more of it.” She fingered her bangs. “When I was done my shower, I found my hair like this. I’m assuming it was some kind of hair dye.”

“Why didn’t you ask Coran or Allura which bottle was the shampoo?” Shiro asked as he sat next to her.

Pidge slumped. “Because stupid me had assumed I had learned enough Altean that I could read the labels and figure it out myself.”

“But you failed,” Shiro replied as he stared at the hair.

“Massively,” Pidge replied and gripped his arm. “You gotta help me fix it before the others see this. I will NEVER live this down.”

Shiro gave a wince. “I’m not sure what I can do about this, except go and find Coran or Allura.”

“Coran is cleaning the healing pods with Lance,” Pidge replied. “The minute Lance sees me with a towel over my head, we both know he would pester me about it until I just showed him.”

“True,” Shiro replied, thoughtfully. “What about Allura?”

“She’s in the kitchen with Keith and Hunk.”

“Keith and Hunk wouldn’t care,” Shiro replied.

“Yes, but we both know Hunk can’t keep a secret from Lance to save his life,” Pidge replied dryly.

“That..is also true,” Shiro replied. Hunk was usually good keep his mouth shut on secrets, except when it came to Lance. The boy could always seem to know the right buttons to push until Hunk came clean with any secrets he was carrying.

“So, what I need you to do,” Pidge instructed, “is to go approach Coran, and tell him I need help without Lance knowing.”

“Ah,” Shiro said with a nod. “You need me as a messenger.”

Pidge relaxed and gave a smile of relief. “Yes, exactly.”

Shiro grasped his chin thoughtfully as a smirk came over his face. “Alright, Pidge I can do that for you.”

Pidge took in a deep breath. “Thanks-”

“After I take a photo,” Shiro said as he reached for a tablet and set it to the camera setting.

An expression of horror appeared over Pidge’s face. “What?”

“I need to keep this as a momento,” Shiro argued.

Pidge growled. “Why?”

“Because Matt would never forgive me if I didn’t take a photo of you right now like this,” Shiro said with a small smile. “And we can show it to him when we find him.”

Pidge paused and she narrowed her eyes like she was debating if it was worth it or not.  
After a moment, Pidge groaned and glared at Shiro. 

“ONE PHOTO,” she said sternly. “Only one and if you dare breathe a word of this to the others no one will find your body.”

“Understood,” Shiro said as he hit the button on the tablet and took the photo. He found it very quite difficult to keep a straight face as he went to get Coran. Pidge with green hair was far too funny, and he knew that if Matt was there he would agree.


End file.
